Upcoming Public Viewing Open Nights in the Observatory:

Start times vary depending on season and rise and set times of observing highlights.

Please check the ‘Status’ of the observing night in the table below, before coming. Given New England weather, often we are forced to postpone our decision till 11 AM of that day.

Schedule for Upcoming Open Nights:

Date

Time

Observing Highlights

Status

February 16

6 PM

CANCELED, CLOUDY SKIES

OFF

February 23

6 pm

First Quarter Moon

ON

March 2

8 pm

Full Moon

ON

March 9

7 pm

Orion Constellation, Deep Sky

ON

March 16

—

Closed, Spring Break

OFF

March 23

7 pm

First Quarter Moon, Venus

ON

March 30

7 pm

Full Moon

ON

April 6

8 pm

Orion Constellation, Deep Sky

ON

April 13

8 pm

Orion Constellation, Deep Sky

ON

April 20

8 pm

Crescent Moon

ON

April 27

8 pm

Gibbous Moon

ON

May 4

8:30 pm

Last Open Night of the Spring Semester

ON

Directions to the public nights: On the evenings marked by ** in the above table we will start our show at the Observatory located on the 4th floor of the Mars Science Center. On the remaining evenings we will meet first in the Hindle auditorium which is the old science center auditorium (on Howard St., just off Taunton Rd) for a slide show before proceeding to the Observatory.

Click here for a printable campus map. Parking lots 7, 8, and 9 are close to the Observatory and the Hindle auditorium.

Check back to this page for an updated weekly schedule. The Friday Observatory Open Night event is free of charge.

Groups

The Observatory welcomes pre-scheduled small groups to visit our facilities on public viewing nights. We ask that all groups larger than 10 arrange their visits to the observatory so that we can manage the number of visitors to our program. Families and smaller groups are welcome at all times and do not need to make prior arrangements.